SUCCESS AND CHALLENGES FOR COOPERATIVES

SUCCESS AND CHALLENGES FOR COOPERATIVES        …………3

Dr Balraj Vishnoi

Cooperative Movement emerged as one of the largest in India. Cooperative Societies is a State subject thus every state enacted its own Cooperative Societies Acts. Main challenge is in terms of their progress for rural India in qualitative terms has not been up to mark in Rajasthan due to various reasons as intervention in functioning with less autonomy despite constitutional amendment. The Government took different remedial  measures to promote cooperatives which include national policy for cooperative society, Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, assistance to cooperative education
(ACE) and training Needs evaluation and reforms, assistance for Integreted cooperative development Projects (ICDP) in selected districts of Rajasthan and other states in through NCDC (GOI) for development of cooperatives grassroot level, revival need and  implementation of recommendations of  Vaidyanathan Committee report and other measures for success of cooperatives in states with amendment in state acts , which is not  encouraging due to lack of innovation and lacks inclusion of best practices from states like Maharastra, Karnataka and Gujarat. Need to strictly follow provisions for autonomous operation of cooperatives with democratic protection and voluntary memership. The right to form cooperative societies made a fundamental right by parliament with vitality of multi-State cooperative societies (MSCS) by the State Legislature and to ensure the autonomy with democratism in cooperatives, accountability of management and board of director to be ensured.

As the Constitutional status and Autonomy to the cooperatives provided in the U.N. Year of cooperative 2012 by constitutional amendment , 2011 in India. Need to signify  cooperatives’ economic institutional need from the farmers perspective to eradicate indebtedness and poverty in rural India and taken as challenge for the cooperative societies to get rid of weak and inactive societies due to politicization of cooperative leadership as the Boards of a majority of cooperative Bodies are dominated by politicians.  As per the second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was critical of the needless influence of the State with less autonomy and politicization at all levels  impaired the proper functioning of cooperative. Thus besides giving constitutional status to cooperative societies ;positive and active rescue operation as a medicinal remedy is need today in 2014 after 2 years of autonomy status to these societies with “a step in the direction to make the cooperative institutions voluntary, democratic, professional, member-driven and member-centric enterprises and making amendment in Constitution in Article 19, 19(1)(h) i.e.“ to form and run cooperatives based on principles of voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, and autonomous functioning free from State control .”

 There should be no prejudice by the Central Government for cooperative sector but needfully substantial economic structural functional provision needful as compulsion. Necessarily the management of cooperative society to be regulated ensuring member centric nature of cooperatives. Instances like Campa housing society should be avoided it’s a disturbing case due to carelessness of BMC and cooperative society as in Mumbai  every building built is necessarily a cooperative , here 102 families getting homeless due to malpractices of housing cooperatives and BMC as well as unawareness of innocent families living there since long back.

Significant role of rural farmer to be supported by the democratic process of Panchayats  grassroots level and  a democratic participation of cooperative autonomy to be secured in independent system for socio-economic upliftment in the state voluntarily nature to establish cooperatives rather than involvement of bureaucracy. A positive sign that Constitution Amendment gives a “democratically governed, efficiently managed, financially sustainable, self-reliant entities that can provide a wider range of financial services to the rural poor” as stressed  earlier by World Bank 2007 report pg. 1-3. Compulsory election all over India in primary cooperative , district cooperative , farmers' cooperative, employees' cooperative, bunker sangh, housing cooperative societies etc with a reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the OBCs, women and people with disabilities.

The Central Government should restrain from interference in the State Governments to make legislation concerned with cooperatives. The cooperative societies lends soft loans to farmers at the time of harvest at a minimal rate of interest.

The cooperative movement playing  great role towards economic development and is an substitute for capitalist economy and socialist based ideology of economy. Successful illustration is of economy in Maharashtra eg. sugar industry and milk sector etc. cooperative societies have playing influencing role for rural development and to be revived successfully in all sectors. Strengthening cooperative movement can be catalyzer for Industrialization rural India. Role of investment is significant for the cooperative societies and will assist in the welfare of farmers, weaker sections and marginal groups of people.                                            …………………to be continue